International and Industry Action

MMF and PPNZ have announced the winners of the 2012 Music Managers Awards. Teresa Patterson of CRS Management scored the prestigious ‘Manager of the Year” award for her management skills reflected in her artists Six60, I Am Giant and Iva Lamkum’s success in 2011; she also took out the top prize for ‘Best Independent Tour’ recognising the work required to put together Six60’s tours throughout the year (culminating in her and the band currently being on a two month world tour). Haddon Smith won this year's award for “Breakthrough Manager” for guiding Annah Mac’s single “Girl in the Stillettos” to platinum, and Ingrid Bennie’s lateral thinking saw her pick up the newly established “Outside the Box” category for the David Dallas pop up store. Cushla Aston took home the ‘Upcoming Manager” award for her work with The Thomas Oliver Band, Rio Hemopo and Cornerstone Roots while Patu Colbert got the thumbs up as “Self Managed Artist” for his management of roots reggae favorites 1814. Another first were the awards voted exclusively by members of the MMF – “Best Venue” went to the Leigh Sawmill Cafe and the Industry Champion award was given to the NZ Music Commission. Veteran music managers Paul McKessar and Campbell Smith from CRS Management were crowned with the “International Achievement” award the second year running recognising the continued international progress of their artists The Naked and Famous and Brooke Fraser. Tim Youngson and Scott Maclachlan, managers for dubstep group Mt Eden, were honoured in another new category for “Online Achievement” with close to 95 million views on their Youtube Channel and the most viewed youtube video in New Zealand plus over 250,000 fans on facebook. Ryan Kershaw was presented with the “MMF Mentoring Success” award by Lorraine Barry, an MMF Mentor and manager for Dave Dobbyn and Bic Runga. www.mmf.co.nz

MusicHype has launched its new music platform which will enable artists, managers and labels to connect with the fans that matter most. MusicHype.com's platform tracks personal fan behaviour across every major social network and streaming service, then feeds this back to artists through a real-time dashboard. Once an artist has signed up & activated their MusicHype account they get a holistic view of all their fans: from the top down, artists can see personalised fan data from services like Rdio, YouTube, Deezer, foursquare, Soundcloud and more, all in one place. MusicHype also features customised communication tools so artists can talk directly to fans through any major social network or email in seconds, plus built-in intelligence, like the   ping , lets an artist know when a fan needs attention. Launched at Music Business 2012, in LA, artists, labels & managers can sign up at MusicHype.com for an invite to the private beta and use the free account to give the site a test-drive. Open beta starts early June 2012. http://musichype.com/

Budding young Rotorua musicians will be given the chance to work alongside some of the country's top music talent next weekend, as a series of music clinics arrive in town for NZ Music Month. Workshops are being offered in bass with Rob Paterson (OMC); guitar with Ben Fulton (Red Witch Analog Pedals); songwriting with Jan Hellriegel (Native Tongue Publishing); drumming with Mickey Ututaonga (She Just Greedy/Nathan Haines); and percussion with Michael Barker (NZSO). The clinics will be held on Saturday 19 May at Rotorua Lakes High School from 10am to 4.30pm. The programme is open to 15 to 24 year olds and costs $5.

Off the back of their #1 chart debut and successful disorderly 48-hour album release party, Home Brew have set up camp on Ponsonby Road this week hocking off exclusive Home Brew merchandise for fans. An array of Home Brew T-Shirts, crew neck sweaters and other merch is available along with their critically acclaimed self-titled album. Come down and hang with the crew, play some Street Fighter II and buy a T-Shirt from: The Home Brew Take Over Store, Next to Video Ezy, 160 Ponsonby Road, Monday 14 May - Sunday 20 May, 11am - 11pm daily
After a huge online/viral buzz from his self-released single and video ‘Slow Wind’, Dawn Raid Entertainment have announced the signing of RnB/Reggae artist Swiss to a worldwide deal for the release of his new EP Mr Slow Wind through Dawn Raid/FMG/Universal Records. Currently residing in Brisbane, the 19 year-old Wellington-born singer of Tongan descent has gone from strength to strength, recently performing shows in Australia, New Zealand, and a four city tour of the United States plus supporting acts such as Nesian Mystik, J-Boog, Fiji and 3 Houses Down. Swiss is also building a healthy fan base in the US and Hawaii as well as closer to home. “The Reggae scene in New Zealand and the Pacific has been steadily growing over the last five years,” says Dawn Raid co-director, Brotha D. “I’ve been looking for a special young artist that can cross all boundaries and continue to push pacific-based reggae music on a world stage. Swiss has the talent.” The first single from the EP ‘Slow Wind’ hits radio this week and is set to be an urban smash with the video already having well over 197,000 views on youtube. "To sign with such a prolific and established label has been a blessing,” says Swiss. “For a label to sign and invest in someone at the age of twenty is always a risk, which is why I am so grateful for the team at Dawn Raid."
Swiss – ‘Slow Wind’ video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTTkGTXjf-0

New release fanfare

This week Street Chant released two music videos on the same day, with the double A-side singles "Frail Girls/Salad Daze" get a the double A-side video treatment. The first video went online at 4.20AM (New Zealand Time) on Monday & and the second video "Salad Daze" was released at 4.20PM that afternoon.
 Out of the cave and into the club, the Frail Girls video is a full spectrum experience. Check the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYVlYLUPYGw

Paul McLaney has been releasing quality music, solo, or with others, for over 10 years. In that time he s collaborated with the likes of Concord Dawn, Anika Moa, Module, Rhian Sheehan and Fly My Pretties. His new project, Nameless Sons, has been in the pipeline for some time, thankfully, the official release is here and was well worth the wait. Featuring Paul McLaney, Andrew Park and Malcome Blake, the trio take us through 12 tracks of Alt and Post Punk excellence. If you re a fan of any of Paul' s previous works this is a must. http://www.facebook.com/namelesssons

PNC is celebrating the recent release of his new street album Under The Influence with an exclusive show at Auckland's 1885 on Friday 18 May. He'll be performing the critically acclaimed album in its entirety on the night with support from special guests including Fire & Ice, Onny Kaulima and People of Paris. From an idea that spawned from an old school mix-tape concept, PNC and up and coming producer Matt Miller included sample mash-ups on Under The Influence from pop chart toppers Gotye, Justin Bieber and Adele, and chose contributing artists like Midnight Youth's Jeremy Redmore alongside more likely collaborators such as David Dallas, Pieter T, and Awa (Nesian Mystik). Under The Influence was made available for free download from PNC's official website www.pncmusic.co.nz on March 30th.  Tickets are on sale from www.undertheradar.co.nz, and punters get a free copy of Under The Influence on CD with every ticket.


On the live front

The folk at Cheese on Toast have announced their NZ Music Month Showcase - happening at Silo Park on the last Saturday of May - the 26th - as part of the Silo Sessions series of free shows. The event is totally free to all and everyone to attend. It kicks off at midday and will end at 6pm. It's all ages, and there is no liquor ban at Silo Park (there is a dick-head ban, though). The headline act will be Ruby Frost, with Cool Rainbows, Dictaphone Blues, Luckless, Cat Venom and CAREERWOLF. Read more...

With the annual NZ Music Month festivities well underway, THE WHISKEY bar in Ponsonby presents their line up for week three of the five-week WHISKEY LIVE series which boasts a massive 99 kiwi acts over 25 nights in May. The line up includes: Aaron Tokona (AHoriBuzz and Cairo Knife Fight), Boy Crush, Cool Rainbows, Cut Off Your Hands, Hollie Smith, Iva Lamkum, Jennifer Zea, Nairobi Trio, Nathan Haines, Nick D & Dick Johnson, Peter Urlich Sextet, Seth Haapu and Tiki Taane with DJs Arash, Bobby Brazuka, Jason Eli, Manuel Bundy, Uncle Barnie and Phoebe Falconer set to close each night after the headline act.  www.whiskeybars.com

Shapeshifter bring it back to where it all began with a one-off show at Christchurch's Bedford Big Top on Saturday the 14th of July. After spending the beginning of 2012 hunkered down in the studio recording their new album, the band are more than ready for a return to their natural habitat. Shapeshifter are that rare beast - a balls-to-the-wall dance act unrestricted by banks of samplers or studio sleight of hand. They have an international reputation as an unmissable live act who move seamlessly from heavy soul to and electronica. This supremely confident genre-shifting combined with the stadium-sized sound that only comes from a full band equals total sensory overload. Supporting Shapeshifter at the Big Top is the psychedelic rock funk fused A Hori Buzz fronted by Lyttelton local Aaron Tokona with the legendary drummer Riki Gooch and songstress LA Mitchell. Also featuring on the line up is Shapeshifter's favourite party starting trio Sunshine Sound System. This will be Shapeshifter's last show in New Zealand for some time as they join the European summer festival circuit. Miss at your peril.

Lucy Lawless and friends invite you to a night of wickedness, all in the name of rock'n'roll licks, good times and tickling the funny bone. With a cluster of high grade musical and comedic friends, Lucy Lawless invites you to a one night only event of rock 'n' roll 'n' revellry and R18 indulgence on Sunday 27 May at Auckland's iconic King's Arms. It's an all-star team up including Amazon queens - Anika Moa and Julia Deans, Scott Wotherspoon, Ben Jurisich and JaSonic Smith. Plus long-time Lawless compadre Joe Lo Duca; composer of Xean, Hercules and Spartacus soundtracks. Fanning the flames of this wild desire is the wickedly talented Urzila Carlson. As Ms. Lawless says "this is not your typical daytime Lucy". This ain't a night for prudes, it is a rare chance to see Lucy Lawless in raw form - embracing the extremities of her persona, performing songs by Kiss 'I Was Made For Loving You Baby', Lana Del Ray 'Blue Jeans', The Killers' 'Somebody Told Me' and many more bonafide classic covers of iconic songs. Tickets for 'Lucy Lawless & Friends' are on sale now from http://www.undertheradar.co.nz. R18 event, not for the faint hearted!


Around the World

Brett Gurewitz, founder of label Epitaph and co-founder of legendary SoCal punk band Bad Religion, was awarded the prestigious National Association of Recording Merchandiser's Independent Spirit Award at their Awards ceremony at the Awards ceremony on May 10. Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were other winners on the night. 

"I'm flattered and honoured to receive NARM's Independent Spirit Award, and to be recognised for my work in the independent music business community, that means so much to me," Gurewitz said.

Past recipients of the award include Tom Silverman, Founder and CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment and Don Van Cleave, formerly the President of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores.

In 1987, Gurewitz launched Epitaph Records, which fast gained a reputation for releasing quality punk records and for striking artist-friendly deals. The Offspring's Smash hit shelves in 1994, and became the highest selling independent release in history, shifting over 12 million units worldwide.
This, coupled with the million-selling ...And Out Come The Wolves, by Rancid, also released in 1994, saw the label become a powerhouse.

In 1998, Tom Waits signed to Epitaph, which inspired the sub-label Anti-Records, through which Gurewitz has released records from artists such as Booker T. Jones and Solomon Burke.

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-news/artists/2012/05/10/epitaph-and-bad-religions-brett-gurewitz-to-receive-independent-spirit-award/

The Amplifier website let us know that Hui 'Nanny' Kahu, best known as the vocalist and poi soloist with Patea Maori Club, passed away last week at her Hawera home. Her death came following a battle with cancer.

New release fanfare
Nga Tae is Richard Nunns (taonga pūoro), Horomona Horo (taonga puoro, vocals), Waimihi Hotere (vocals) and Paddy Free (keyboards, programming).  Nga Tae means ”group of many colours” and they exemplify cultural diversity as a group. Skank Attack, the Wellington three piece notorious for their high energy sound and socially aware songs, recently unearthed the multitrack tapes from their last recording session and have worked with respected New Zealand music producer Nick Roughan to mix the best songs for release. The year 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of legendary Wellington outfit The Warratahs. In honour of this momentous occasion, The Warratahs have put out a brand new 2CD titled 25 Year Collection which features 19 remastered songs from their back catalogue and a new five track EP.

Hikoi and Journey are brother and sister releases from Nunns/Dyne/Lisik; two albums cut from the same cloth. Journey elaborates on the source material of Hikoi, which started life as a musical conversation between two life-long friends, Richard Nunns (taonga puoro) and Paul Dyne (bass). Recorded on one of their exuberant evenings at Happy Bar in Wellington, The Troubles’ debut self-titled album is a moment of magic, a never to be repeated snapshot of one of New Zealand’s most original and engaging jazz ensembles. From the coarse to the sublime, the emotive to the absurd, their music is inventive, passionateand honest. Cover art is by Fane Flaws. Now in his mid 50s, Kim Paterson has been a prolific jazz musician since the 1960s. He is, for most of the younger New Zealand jazz musicians, the father of the Auckland jazz scene… The Duende is Kim Pattersons 2012 release. It features the cream of New Zealands jazz scene including Mike Nock, Nathan Haines, Kevin Field, Olivier Holland and many more. (Also on re-release: Impending Journey, Kim Paterson's 1997 release.)


On the live front

The Sparrow will be Lawrence Arabia's third solo album, the evocative follow up to the Taite Music Prize/Silver Scroll winning Chant Darling. Venturing away from the harmony-laden, classic pop production of Chant Darling, The Sparrow is a more measured and minimalist work, drawing particularly on the influence of the symphonic late-sixties work of Scott Walker and Serge Gainsbourg. The next installment of Auckland Museum’s LATE at the Museum series will return this Thursday, May 3 with a discussion exploring the seven deadly sins in modern life. Wallace Chapman will lead a panel uof social commentators and experts on the repercussions of these human tendencies and whether our sins are more grievous and more extreme in 2012 than they once were – or perhaps just better publicised. After the smart talk, The Bellbirds, made up of Don McGlashan, Sean Donnelly, Sandy Mill and Victoria Kelly, will perform against the incredible backdrop of the Museum. Tickets are $20 from the Auckland Museum website.

The Amplifier website let us know that Hui 'Nanny' Kahu, best known as the vocalist and poi soloist with Patea Maori Club, passed away last week at her Hawera home. Her death came following a battle with cancer. Hui Kahu was a co-founded Patea Maori Club, who achieved widespread fame with their hit single Poi E, released in 1984. A tangi was held for Hui Kahu at Wai-O-Tui Marae in Taranaki. She was 76.


New release fanfare
Nga Tae is Richard Nunns (taonga pūoro), Horomona Horo (taonga puoro, vocals), Waimihi Hotere (vocals) and Paddy Free (keyboards, programming).  Nga Tae means ”group of many colours” and they exemplify cultural diversity as a group. The group represents Maori and Pakeha personnel; traditional maori instruments and modern electronica instrumentation; and the use of primarily Te Reo in the language though  English is used, especially in Witi Ihimaera’s work Star Waka.

Skank Attack, the Wellington three piece notorious for their high energy sound and socially aware songs, recently unearthed the multitrack tapes from their last recording session and have worked with respected New Zealand music producer Nick Roughan to mix the best songs for release. Realising the dark but melodic sound they created back then would appeal to both their former contemporaries and a new audience, former Skank Attack members Phil Simpson, Jeff Eden and Steve Cochrane set about digitising the material so it can finally be unleashed.

The year 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of legendary Wellington outfit The Warratahs. In honour of this momentous occasion, The Warratahs have put out a brand new 2CD titled 25 Year Collection which features 19 remastered songs from their back catalogue and a new five track EP. ‘Kupe’s Tears’ plus ‘Mindreader's Blues’ were produced by Wellington musician Craig Terris of Cassette fame. ‘Good Combinations” and a remake of ‘Hands of My Heart’ (a duet with Caroline Easther) were produced by David Long (Fur Patrol, Dave Dobbyn). There is even a delightful live performance from Lyttelton’s The Harbour Light of a new track entitled ‘Love Song’.

Hikoi and Journey are brother and sister releases from Nunns/Dyne/Lisik; two albums cut from the same cloth. Journey elaborates on the source material of Hikoi, which started life as a musical conversation between two life-long friends, Richard Nunns (taonga puoro) and Paul Dyne (bass). Journey features Tim Hopkins (sax), Jorge Sosa & Dave Lisik (electronics), and Amy Rempel (piano). These brother and sister albums are fascinating to compare, Hikoi predominantly intimate and minimalist, while Journey is layered and sonically more expansive.

Recorded on one of their exuberant evenings at Happy Bar in Wellington, The Troubles’ debut self-titled album is a moment of magic, a never to be repeated snapshot of one of New Zealand’s most original and engaging jazz ensembles. From the coarse to the sublime, the emotive to the absurd, their music is inventive, passionateand honest. Cover art is by Fane Flaws.

Now in his mid 50s, Kim Paterson has been a prolific jazz musician since the 1960s. He is, for most of the younger New Zealand jazz musicians, the father of the Auckland jazz scene… The Duende is Kim Pattersons 2012 release. It features the cream of New Zealands jazz scene including Mike Nock, Nathan Haines, Kevin Field, Olivier Holland and many more. (Also on re-release: Impending Journey, Kim Paterson's 1997 release.)


On the live front

The Sparrow will be Lawrence Arabia's third solo album, the evocative follow up to the Taite Music Prize/Silver Scroll winning Chant Darling. Venturing away from the harmony-laden, classic pop production of Chant Darling, The Sparrow is a more measured and minimalist work, drawing particularly on the influence of the symphonic late-sixties work of Scott Walker and Serge Gainsbourg. The material for the album was accumulated throughout a 2010 tour. Images like the "crude moustache, exposed brains" seen on a poster of Zac Efron in the New York subway, the jaded conversation with a Tom Tom on a rainy British motorway and "the last breaths" of a London house party that dragged on a little too long were all collected - just waiting for songs to attach themselves to. These diary entries (and more) act as muse for Lawrence Arabia's enigmatic third album. Don't miss the chance to see him give a first performance of material from it on his tour in July.

The next installment of Auckland Museum’s LATE at the Museum series will return this Thursday, May 3 with a discussion exploring the seven deadly sins in modern life. Wallace Chapman will lead a panel uof social commentators and experts on the repercussions of these human tendencies and whether our sins are more grievous and more extreme in 2012 than they once were – or perhaps just better publicised. After the smart talk, The Bellbirds, made up of Don McGlashan, Sean Donnelly, Sandy Mill and Victoria Kelly, will perform against the incredible backdrop of the Museum. Tickets are $20 from the Auckland Museum website. More info here: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/Default.asp?t=1735

International and Industry Action
Blue Smoke Records have happily announced that Pixie Williams' album "For the Record: Pixie Williams 1949 - 1951" has been nominated for Best Reissue Album in the 11th Annual Independent Music Awards - see details in the attached link:
http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/2012/11th-annual-independent-music-awards-nominees-announced/

New release fanfare
You can download the track Be About It  taken from Kapabal’s forthcoming album No Rest and receive a FREE mini-EP with 3 never released Kapabal tracks. All the tracks are produced by Doughboy A.K.A. Aaron Davey from Tomorrow People, who also produced Be About It. All you have to do is download the song from iTunes, then email through the receipt to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and you will be emailed back an exclusive download link to the 3 FREE tracks.

'Next Life' is a new single by Auckland-based band Two Way Radio fronted by songwriter Danik Sygrove. A rock song with radio in its sights, it was recorded at Roundhead by Nic Manders and mastered by Andy VanDette at Masterdisk NYC. You can catch the video on Juice 63. The single also  includes a remix by Tomorrowpeople.
http://www.amplifier.co.nz/release/80432/next-life-single.html
http://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/next-life-single/id491596701

Wellington lads The Thomas Oliver Band are set to release One of These Days, the fourth single off their debut album number 1 selling album Baby, I’ll Play. The release of One of These Days follows on from the band’s recent success with Baby, I’ll Play taking out the iTunes Best New Zealand Blues and Roots Album and the #1 Top CD seller on Amplifier.co.nz for 2011. The band have reworked the single, mixed by Mu from Fat Freddy’s Drop and mastered in LA by Stephen Marcussen, since the initial recording on Baby, I’ll Play. To celebrate the release One of These Days, The Thomas Oliver Band are returning to where it all started, the home of their first single release, Wellington’s Bar Bodega for one show only on Saturday 24 March with support from Louis Baker. Tickets on sale now from www.1-night.co.nz

DJs P-Money & Dan Aux have had their first collaborative single Kinda Lovin’ chosen for a worldwide release in March through renowned French label, Kitsune. Covering a broader spectrum than music alone, Kitsune is the brainchild of Gildas Loaec (a young dynamic entrepreneur from Brittany) and Masaya Kuroki (an architecture student who switched to fashion design). Collaboratively, Loaec and Kuroki created Kitsune to combine all the things they were into - clothing, image and music – establishing a sought-after and revered French label as a result. P-Money and Dan Aux’s collaborations stick very close to the traditions laid down by 90’s house pioneers Masters At Work, Daft Punk and Armand Van Helden. The pair find only the greatest disco house loops and arrange them into present-day dance floor destroyers. 
Kinda Lovin’ is solid evidence of the disco gold that these two uncovered - a funky summer groove, armed with the mother of all hooks. "Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox,” comments Dan Aux. “The kitsune is said to have the power to change its appearance and its face, which is something that Pete & I have been working on with the Disco 3 project and we hope to get some botox work done later in the year…but seriously, I'm just stoked they love our music and we can keep pushing New Zealand to the world." Kinda Lovin will be released worldwide through Kitsune on March 26th. http://pmoneymusic.com/

The extremely popular Pasfika Festival is on this weekend - and there you can pick up the Official CD for the 2012 Festival - which is also the 20th Anniversary. There may even be a few guest appearances from some of the artists themselves. Artists playing at Pasifika include For those of you that can’t make it to the festival the CD will be available in stores and online from Monday 12th of March. http://dirty.co.nz/

Beastwars' album is now available from today in the UK and Europe through Witch Hunter Records. They're offering a very cool tee shirt and LP combo deal too.

On the live front
Ryan Kershaw has organised The Underground Festival which will be held at the King's Arms in Auckland this Saturday 10 March. Entry to the event is free, and its purpose is to promote New Zealand underground music, arts and music-related companies. The lineup features 15-year-old acoustic duo Alex and Nicole, Royal Falcon, Rocket, Jealous Itch, Kasium, Frozen Alice, Invader Cain and Ryan Kershaw - plus a burlesque performance by Leda Petit, top NZ burlesque performer. And that's not all...Starting at 3pm with hot rod rides and a bouncy castle for the young and young at heart, there will also be stalls out the back of the Kings Arms, including custom nail art, rock star portraits, mixed media art, new rock n roll hair salon ‘Live and Let Dye’, body piercing, Roller Derby and more. All for FREE. https://www.facebook.com/events/323647024342945/

Adam McGrath from Kiwi country-blues band The Eastern has been selected to support Steve Earle for both of his upcoming New Zealand shows in Auckland on 11 April at The Kings Arms, and Wellington on 12 April at Bodega. McGrath will play a solo acoustic set of songs featured on The Eastern’s brand new album ‘Hope and Wire’. Having previously toured with Earle and bands such as Old Crow Medicine Show, Lil’ Band of Gold and having opened for Fleetwood Mac, The Jayhawks and Justin Townes Earle, McGrath’s set of The Eastern’s songs will be a great treat for Steve Earle fans. www.eventfinder.co.nz.

Kiwi music legend Don McGlashan (The Mutton Birds, Blam Blam Blam, From Scratch, The Front Lawn) has added his name to the list of those performing a fundraiser for Sistema Aotearoa, the children's music education programme based in Otara and run by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra with funding for a pilot scheme from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. McGlashan will share the stage with the Jade String Quartet, and joins a bill that already includes award-winning 14-year-old singer Khona Va'aga-Gray, soprano Morag Atchison and pianist Rosemary Barnes. The concert, which takes place from 3pm this Saturday 10 March, also marks the rare and welcome appearance as a pianist of APO Music Director Eckehard Stier, who performs jazz standards with violinist Dr Joe Harrop, Programme Director of Sistema Aotearoa. Emcee for the afternoon is the accomplished actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand, who also worked with Don McGlashan in the music/theatre group The Front Lawn. Since Sistema Aotearoa launched in April 2011 the young pupils, aged between five and eight years, have played several concerts, including one to 600 people at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau. And while they've performed to family, friends and even government ministers, the fundraising concert will be in front of their most important guest yet: Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, the Governor-General of New Zealand. The concert is free to attend, but because it is held at the Governor-General's residence, it is open only to ticket holders. For more information and to secure your ticket, go to http://www.apo.co.nz/fundraising-concert or phone (09) 623 1052. The concert is held outdoors and in the open; the rain date is Sunday 11 March. Read more...

Are you a young woman interested in learning the art of MCing? Have you ever wanted to know how to write song lyrics or how to rhyme over a DJ's mix but haven't had the confidence or the skills? Renowned female MC Natalie Sheppard, aka MC Tali is holding a specially tailored 2 day workshop for female lyricists, plus hosting a separate Songwriter Speaks session at the APRA office in Auckland. The course will be run 21-22 April 2012. The Songwriter Speaks session will be held on 11 April 2012 at the APRA Office in Auckland.

IMNZ News

International and Industry Action

Bret McKenzie, one half of the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, has won an Oscar for his original song Man or Muppet. The song was one of three that McKenzie penned for the film 'The Muppets' under his role as Musical Director. He was up against Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown for the song Real in Rio in the Best Original Song category. Said McKenzie in his acceptance speech, “…I grew up in New Zealand watching the Muppets on TV, never dreamed I'd get to work with them. I was genuinely star-struck when I finally met Kermit the Frog. But once you get to know him, he's just a normal frog, and like many stars here tonight, he's a lot shorter in real-life…” McKenzie thanked his wife, two children and parents for never telling him to get a real job.

New release fanfare

Following on from last year’s remastered collection of classics, Rewind The Hateman, Hallelujah Picassos are releasing the next installment in their reissue series - a newly remastered, digital album collecting the cover versions from the band. It’s a bunch of songs originally done by the likes of Bo Diddley, James, Brown, HLAH, The Sonics, Greg Johnson and more, given a crazy sonic twist - kicking off with Peanut Butter, a hugely popular tune on student radio when released on cassette in 1991, 21 years ago. The band took the original reel to reel master tape to Stebbings and had them digitise it - they had to bake it first to get it to a playable state!  There are two previously unreleased songs seeing the light of day, covers of The The - Perfect, and Tears of a Clown (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, via The Beat, or English Beat). Picasso Core Jukebox comes with an e-booklet with extensive liner notes looking behind the songs and how the band discovered them, along with previously unpublished photos. Out Monday March 5, through Bandcamp/Amplifier/iTunes and all good digital outlets.  http://picassocore.blogspot.com/  To celebrate the announcement of their forthcoming album 'Dust and Dirt', The Black Seeds are offering fans the first single ‘Pippy Pip’ for free download for a limited time at www.theblackseeds.com. 

Dawn Raid and Pasifika Festival are proud to announce the release of Pasifika Festival – 20th Anniversary, a collection of twenty songs from The Pacific’s most prolific Polynesian & Maori artists.  The album’s release coincides with the 20th anniversary of the festival that will take place on Saturday 10th March at Auckland’s Western Springs Park and includes tracks from the likes of Smashproof, Herbs, The Yandall Sisters, David Dallas and more. Founders of Dawn Raid Entertainment, Andy Murnane and Brotha D,  compiled the album’s track list. “In celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Pasifika Festival, we wanted to showcase artists that have helped the festival reach this accomplishment, and highlight how Pasifika Festival has become an important platform for these artists while on their musical journey” says Brotha D. The album is out this Monday March 5. www.dawnraid.co.nz

Shapeshifter and Thomas Oliver both feature on the latest bumper collection of tracks from respected UK drum and bass label Hospital Records – Hospitality Drum and Bass 2012. Shapeshifter’s cut is Monarch, and Thomas Oliver’s vocals are featured on UK artist Rido’s track Twisted. http://www.hospitalitydnb.com/music/nhs202/

New Zealand (Christchurch) born and London residing violinist and composer Fiona Pears releases her 6th CD - Feeling. Describing her musical influences as Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, John Williams and Jean Luc Ponty, Pears performs Celtic, Classical, Tango, Jazz and Gypsy with equal ease, sometimes all in the same composition! Feeling features some of Fiona’s most beautiful compositions to date. She is on tour from next Thursday March 8, starting in Ashburton and winding up in Whangarei on March 25.

The Phil Broadhurst Trio’s Iris is their 1986 Jazz Record of the Year re-issued on CD for the first time. The Trio are Phil Broadhurst (piano), Andy Brown (bass) and Frank Gibson Jr (drums) - this is a must have for any NZ jazz aficionado. Read more...

Tiki Taane has teamed up with Mercury Energy for their new TV campaign, with Tiki performing his own take on the classic song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Proceeds of the single will go to Starship Children’s Hospital. 


On the live front

Join Salon Kingsadore tonight (Monday March 5) at Auckland's Stardome Observatory under the astronomical guidance of Dylan Story. Salon Kingsadore will explore the galaxies of the known universe, performing under the dome of stars, planets and solar systems, accentuated by personal guide and pilot for the evening, Dylan Story. PLUS hear Gianmarco Liguori's latest release 'Duga 3', in it's entirety, while gazing from the comfort of your very own seat.

Having toured up and down New Zealand too many times to mention, Auckland noise-rock trio god bows to math finally make their way over the ditch, playing eight shows across Australia this April. After acclaimed reviews of their debut album, god bows to math, and earning a slew of accolades for their live shows, the three piece tour up and down the East coast ahead of the Australian release of their album through Tenzenmen. The band themselves had a triumphant 2011; drawing their biggest crowds to date during their album tour, with blistering performances in Auckland and Wellington and playing their biggest show to date – radio station 95bFM's Nirvana tribute night. The event, held at the hallowed Kings Arms in Auckland, saw a near-capacity crowd for the headline act. The three members of the band - Martin Phillips, Thomas Morrison and Sam Cussen - make up a triumvirate with ideals as hard-nosed as their walls of noise, firing from the hip in a display of intensive methodology: just ask the ten releases already put out under their name.
http://muzairecords.com

Unitec is gearing up for the fast approaching highlight of Orientation - Lipton Ice Tea Sounds in the Sun on Saturday 3 March. After just announcing their huge headlining band, Shapeshifter, they have just announced that Annabel Fay will also be heating up the stage. Fay will be featuring with Bulletproof instead of Jessie G. Tickets are selling fast. General Admission tickets only $20 from http://www.dashtickets.co.nz It will be a day of not only great kiwi music but patrons can expect interactive zones, food vendors, licensed areas, market stalls and free Lipton Ice Tea.

Around the World

ARIA have announced their 2011 wholesale figures and it seems that Australians are quickly making the move towards digital music consumption, with digital sales now making up 36.7% of the industry’s value, compared to 27.2% last year. Digital track sales increased by 39.2%, with digital albums up 45.9% on 2010. The flipside to this, of course, is that physical music sales were down 13.8% on 2010 figures, while still making up $242 million dollars worth of revenue.

Dan Rosen, ARIA CEO, said of the results: “2011 was an extremely positive year for our industry and we enter 2012 with a great deal of momentum on all fronts. There were a whole range of fantastic releases by artists both here and abroad and the array of options by which music fans could listen to, consume and purchase music grew exponentially."

Rosen also commented on the negative impact of online piracy on music sales.

“While as an industry we are doing all we can to embrace the digital media landscape by offering music fans more options than ever before to get their music legally online, we require urgent assistance in the fight against the negative impact of illegal online piracy. We will continue our fight to protect the rights of artists and labels, ensuring money flows back for their creative work and to the grassroots of the music industry. We will work in good faith with the Government and ISPs for practical progress in the coming year.”

While the report acknowledges the positive impact new streaming devices such as Rdio, Spotify will have on digital growth, the report stresses "the impact of online piracy continues to be felt across the industry."

"The current overall industry value of $382.7 million is a drop of 27.5% on the $528.2 million generated in 2005," the report states.

Still, as Yazz once stated, the only way is up.

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-news/industry/2012/02/28/aria-announce-2011-wholesale-figures/

International and Industry Action
Dunedin subversive-pop band Opposite Sex have had an unexpected boost to their self-titled debut album released in November on Dunedin label Fishrider Records.  The album has been receiving regular airplay on Marc Riley's BBC Radio show in the UK in the prime weekday evening slot since mid January, the legendary DJ (and former Fall guitarist) proclaiming it   absolutely brilliant.Together with great reviews in UK music monthly Uncut and French music/ culture weekly Les Inrockuptibles, it has led to a run on the album since the new year. Fishrider Records owner Ian Henderson says the LP pressing of 150 is close to selling out already. ''We won't be troubling the charts he said,   but it is good to know that it is still possible to sell LPs and CDs around the world from Dunedin.  It is also great to hear new Dunedin music being talked about overseas. Even if we did poach this band from Gisborne.'' The LP pressing was an expensive gamble but now Henderson is wishing he'd had more pressed.    The LPs have been selling as well as CDs and digital album downloads at this early stage. The LP pressing will cover costs now which was the main goal. LP sales have been strongest in Dunedin and Gisborne, which is understandable. But orders via the band's Bandcamp.com page from the UK and Europe account for the next biggest slice of the LP pressing. Meanwhile Opposite Sex have been flying below the radar in New Zealand. The album was released in mid-November and they have yet to play far beyond their Dunedin base or hometown of Gisborne so far - something the band plan to rectify in the first half of this year. http://fishriderrecords.wordpress.com/

New release fanfare
The Black Seeds will release their new studio album 'Dust And Dirt'(the long awaited follow up to 2008's  Solid Ground') on April 9 this year through Rhythmethod/DRM and worldwide from April 10. Self-recorded and produced in their Wellington studio, the 13-track album introduces new sounds and styles not heard on previous releases whilst retaining the trademark sound that has seen the band remain one of New Zealand's premiere acts for the past decade. First single ‘Pippy Pip', will be released on 28 February and will be available for a limited time as a free download from the band's website. ‘Dust And Dirt' will be available from all good retailers on digital, CD, plus limited edition heavy weight 12'' double gatefold vinyl. A limited number of collector's edition pre-sale packages will be available from the band's website from March 12. Fans will also get the opportunity to hear the album before the release date, and New Zealand tour dates will be announced shortly.

The Puddle return with their 4th album, Secret Holiday/ Victory Blues - a double EP/LP - to be released on Dunedin's Fishrider Records on 1 March 2012.  This latest album is technically two separate EPs recorded on different occasions at the Auckland warehouse studio of Bob Frisbee (Shaft, Street Chant, Transistors etc.). But no-one releases EPs any more and The Puddle certainly couldn't afford to release two of them so combined them as a side each of an LP, and whole CD. Each EP session came about during a recent tour by The Puddle.  The first, Victory Blues, features outspoken Puddle fan Graeme Humphreys (Able Tasmans, Humphreys & Keen) guesting on keyboards.  The second (which is the first on the album of course) is Secret Holiday, recorded after latest recruit, Louisiana-born multi-instrumentalist Alan Starrett (Pop Art Toasters, The Bats, Mink etc.), joined the band in 2010. The Puddle's George D. Henderson says, “file under easy listening” but we say it's more like adult disoriented pop - The Puddle ageing (dis)gracefully and finding themselves a niche as the weird elder statesmen of New Zealand alternative pop, a bit like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. But without Nick Cave. Or The Bad Seeds. After 25 Years largely lost in the mist, their 1986 - 93 Flying Nun Records catalogue long out of print, The Puddle continue to make up for lost time. Long may their late run continue. http://fishriderrecords.wordpress.com/

The multi-talented drummer, producer, DJ and visual artist Julien Dyne has released his second full length album, Glimpse. Stylistically a continuation of the futuristic elements hinted at on his 2009 debut Pins and Digits, Glimpse offers studies in shimmering melodies, woozy beds of rich harmonic sounds that pulsate over thick percussive backdrops. Featuring the vocal talents of She's So Rad, Ladi 6, Parks, Mara TK (Electric Wire Hustle ) and Claire Duncan (Dear Time's Waste) this record contains elements of soul and indie vocals against a backdrop of futuristic Hip Hop beats.

Moana and the Tribe's newly-released Best Of includes the band's remake of the classic Sonny Charles and the Checkmates' track ‘Black Pearl' (co-written by Phil Spector) and the award winning ‘Moko' (in 2004, Moana became the first non-American to win a major U.S.A based songwriting contest with this song beating over 11,000 compositions to win the Grand Jury Prize of the International Songwriting Competition.) The album also features an instrumental experiment with fellow art laureates Alistair Galbraith and Richard Nunns and the title track to ‘Te Po', a film written and produced by her partner, documentary maker Toby Mills. Described in the US magazine The Beat (2006) as a “truly inspiring performing and recording artist”, charismatic lead singer Moana has been credited by Songlines (2006) with “laying the foundations for the recent international exposure of New Zealand acts like Te Vaka, Fat Freddy's Drop and Wai.”

New Zealand crooner Grant P Chilcott is a professional singer, bandleader and recording artist, for 25 years he has been spinning out songs from the great American songbook. His latest album Grant P Chilcott Sings Mitchell Parish is a mix of compositions by lyricist Mitchell Parish and includes collaborations with Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and Leroy Anderson. The collection has been narrowed down from the 600 plus compositions Mitchell worked on. Sings Mitchell Parish features the Kevin Field Trio with guests Nigel Gavin, and Walter Bianco. The vocals were produced Nathan Haines.

Now in their 10th year, the Wellington-based Klezmer Rebs ethnic/European world music band have released their latest CD Anarchia Total, featuring classic klezmer tunes and some unconventional klezmer. Anarchia Total captures the Klezmer Rebs playing in the true klezmer spirit with songs of joy, sorrow and rebellion. (The album features clarinettist Urs Signer - one of the ``Urewera Four'' accused of being involved in a military-style training camp).

On the live front
The 95bFM Summer Series returns March 10th with The Checks, Die! Die! Die!, Street Chant, The Golden Awesome, Princess Chelsea and Wilberforces all going down amidst the shiny new surrounds of Silo Park on the Auckland waterfront at Wynyard Quarter. The location may have changed but it's still Summer Series through and through - you can still rock up with your chilly bin and stake out a spot on the grass, watch bands tear up the stage all afternoon, and pay nothing because it's FREE and totally open to everyone. There will be market stalls, food vendors, a bar to supply you with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, shade tents, water fountains, and of course... awesome bands. Thanks to grabaseat, Becks, and Silo Park. www.95bFM.com.

A couple of support acts for international visitors have been announced. Junica will open up for New Order at Vector Arena on Monday February 27th  and Ruby Frost will take the Vector stage first up for Jessie J, the following evening, Tuesday February 28th.  Doors open at 7pm for both shows, so make sure you arrive in time catch these opening bands, they're well worth it. www.facebook.com/SolidEntertainment

The Great Kiwi Beer Festival is happening in Christchurch's Hagley Park this Saturday February 25th and the musical lineup features: Black Seeds, AHoriBuzz, The Nudge, The Unfaithful Ways and DJs Nacoa & Seth Hamilton. Expect great music and responsible drinking. http://greatkiwibeerfestival.co.nz/

And March 31 sees beer heaven in The Cloud in Auckland as Hell Presents The New Zealand Beer Festival. Since 2006 The New Zealand Beer Festival has showcased Craft Beer from around the world, and in 2012 in The Cloud on Auckland's waterfront they'll present over over 70 beers, great food to match and a music lineup with The Feelers leading the charge. Saturday the 31st of March is the last evening of Daylight Savings, so consider it a summer wrap party. http://www.beerfestival.co.nz/

Rural audiences will delight this February and March as CMP Presents an unmissable night of music, theatre and comedy with ‘The Bitches' Box and Mel Parsons'. From the oldest working woolshed in NZ at Te Waimate, through to the state of the art facilities at Criffel Station in Wanaka, this exciting tour sees a trio of professional entertainers perform in woolsheds, community halls, and even an aeroplane hangar throughout farming communities spanning the length and breadth of the South Island. Actresses Amelia Guild and Emma Newborn are joined by acclaimed singer/songwriter Mel Parsons on this ambitious five-week 22 date tour, each show comprised of original music and theatre performances. Having both grown up on farms, Guild and Parsons were drawn to the idea of taking their respective crafts back to the rural community, while Newborn - a city girl through and through - is excited about sharing her theatre-immersed upbringing with country audiences. For all venue, dates & booking details, and to find out more about the show go to:www.bitchesbox.com

They’re are a string band that roars like a punk band, swings like a gospel band, drinks like a country band, works like a bar band, hopes like folk singers, and sings love songs like union songs, and writes union songs like love songs, and wants to slow dance and stand on tables, all at the same time - and this March sees the release of Lyttelton’s own The Eastern’s third long player. Entitled ‘Hope and Wire’ it’s a double album with twenty new songs on it. Recorded in the now ghostly suburb of Dallington post quake, in a red zoned house left by the family who’d had for thirty years, the record is informed by all the wonderful neighbours and strangers they’ve meet in the past very trying year. They’ve toured with Steve Earle, the Old Crow Medicine Show and opened for lots of talented folks from Fleetwood Mac to Jimmy Barnes to Upper Hutt Posse, Trinity Roots and The Warratahs. With over fifty dates booked in NZ and Australia over the next two and half months and the understanding the band will be on tour all year this looks like it shall be The Eastern’s most adventurous year yet. Hope and Wire is out in all good community record stores and online from March 5th. It’s released by Rough Peel records and distributed by Rhythymethod. The Eastern will be on tour forever, starting March 2nd and 3rd at The Lyttleton Club with support from Lindon Puffin and Marlin Williams. Tickets on sale from www.undertheradar.co.nz

IMNZ News

International and Industry Action

Otis Mace, Sandra Bell and Jay Clarkson are three of the eight New Zealand poets being sent to New York for a very special event. For two years Jim Wilson travelled to cities and towns throughout the USA and put poem posters by Kiwi poets on poles, walls and in cafes and stores. Then a dedicated group of volunteers also put these poem posters up in cities around the world from London, Glasgow, Paris and Vienna through to Sydney, Australia. Back home in New Zealand, Wilson's company Phantom Billstickers Ltd has put up thousands of Kiwi poems on walls and poster bollards from Invercargill to Whangarei. Now eight of New Zealand's finest poets bring their voices, hearts, and words to a live performance poetry event in New York City. The Phantom Billstickers Poems on Posters initiative has attracted much interest and attention from radio stations, newspaper columns, and blogs, but more importantly (much more importantly) the poems themselves have been read on the streets. The poems on posters capture the interest of the passer-by and this is what makes all the difference. These performers are hand-picked rugged individualists, energetic imagineers, who will bring you poetry in motion from far-flung degrees of latitude, with a Kiwi-consciousness-raising cabaret, by turns eclectic, electric, comic, melancholic, idiosyncratic and euphoric. Spiraling out of the South Pacific to stand and deliver stories and lyrics about oceanic love, environmental vigilance, and the dramatic dilemmas of identity, this flying circus of Kiwiana activists, Pasifika scene-painters, fretboard-fingering songsters, acrobatic word-jugglers and megaphone motormouths promises to carry you across the date-line and re-orientate your inner global positioning satellite, all in the course of just one colorful evening.
The Poets From New Zealand to Perform in New York on February 28, 2012 are:
Jeffrey Paparoa Holman / David Eggleton / Hinemoana Baker / Sandra Bell / Jay Clarkson / Pamela Gordon (reading Janet Frame) / Otis Mace / Tusiata Avia
Many other Kiwi poets have lent their voice to this project since its inception in 2009.  Several prominent American poets have also participated.
Two American Poets Making a Special Guest Appearance at this Event are: Gerald Stern (National Book Award winner) and  Jeffrey McCaleb (The Bard of Cookeville, Tennessee).
You can read about the Phantom Billstickers Poems on Posters project as well as Jim Wilson's articles on postering in cities across the USA at http://www.0800phantom.co.nz/blog/poetry

New release fanfare

Almost one year ago on February 22, Christchurch, New Zealand was rocked by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in which 181 people tragically lost their lives. The rest of the country mourned alongside the devastated city, the collective national grief over nature's wrath seemingly magnified on a global scale a month later when Japan was rocked by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in which over 18,000 people lost their lives. To this day, both nationally and internationally, the healing and rebuilding process continues. Music Collective The Hypnotics have written and recorded an original track called "Be Right There" in the hope that it may bring comfort and positive inspiration to all those affected. They believe that although Christchurch's physical foundation may have given way beneath them, its people’s collective resolve to rebuild hasn't; and even though it seems that almost a year later, the aftershocks aren't letting up; they pray that this original song of theirs can be of humble inspiration to all to not let up the hope themselves. All proceeds from the single will go directly to “The Canterbury Earthquake Children's Trust” to aid children in the area who have lost parents through the tragedy. Available on Amplifier, Digirama, Flybuys, iTunes, Vodafone & Telecom NZ.  Buy yourself a copy today of a great song and support a great cause." Click here to purchase the track on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/be-right-there-single/id502423977

On the live front

This Saturday February 18 set aside an afternoon to hear one of the most acclaimed melodic pop bands in New Zealand play at the unique venue Silo Park. The Phoenix Foundation will be gracing the Silo Park stage with their unique blend of catchy pop tunes and psychedelic rock, an act suited to attending on a balmy summer’s day. They will be ably supported by Bannerman - if his new album, Dearly Departed, is anything to go by, be prepared for quiet corners of folk, jaunty alt country, some serious guitar brutality and hope-filled pop torch-songs. The Silo Sessions presented by The Phoenix Foundation and Bannerman. Free & family friendly. http://silopark.co.nz/silo-sessions/presented-by-the-phoenix-foundation-2/

Not only does Bali have kickass surf, it's also home to some seriously heavy metal - like, in the literal sense. Balinese gamelans are an arsenal of heavy bronze percussion instruments; exotic, frenetic and furious, and Wellington-based group Gamelan Taniwha Jaya has reinvented the live songs of Minuit which they'll be blasting out together on stage for the first time at Homegrown this weekend. Already well known for their energetic live shows, Minuit say "it's definitely been a challenge adding twelve more players to the band, but its completely kickass! Why didnt we do it before? Oh that's right, we need a small truck to move everyone". Onstage, up to twelve players - plus the Minuit trio - arrange themselves amongst these intricately crafted instruments, where one moment the music is beautifully delicate and shimmering; the next, rhythmic and mesmerising - some parts so rapid that two players are needed to play overlapping parts. And of course there's the big gongs. It's a curious showcase. And it's LOUD! Homegrown is sold out, so if you have a ticket make sure you get along to the Red Bull Lab Stage between 8-9pm. Or check them out at WOMAD, Taranaki on Sunday 18 March. You can also hear excerpts from rehearsals and a chat with the band on Music 101, Saturday 18 February on Radio New Zealand National.
http://www.amplifier.co.nz/news/82761/minuit-to-play-with-balinese-gamelan-at-homegrown.html

Around the World

Jamie Oliver finds Joy Division and New Order master tapes in basement
Naked Chef Jamie Oliver discovered a haul of treasure worth over one million pounds in the basement of a Manchester restaurant he recently bought. Holy Moly reported that among the jewels, gold and a collection of guns were rare Joy Division and New Order master tapes. The restaurant building was previously a branch of Midland bank. The musical goldmine was hidden in a safety deposit box among hundreds of other boxes under the old bank. Attempts to find the owners of most boxes were futile so the Bank of England opened each using a drill. The celebrity chef has since given all the findings to the national treasury. Later this month, New Order will make their first visit to Australia and New Zealand in ten years.
http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-news/artists/2012/02/15/jamie-oliver-finds-joy-division-and-new-order-master-tapes-in-basement/

There's been some nice press coverage recently about some of our hardworking IMNZ members...
The New Zealand Herald's William Dart talks with Ode's Roger Marbeck: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/music/news/article.cfm?c_id=264&objectid=10783363
Here's a piece about Powertool Records' Andrew Maitai: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/4486604/Powering-ahead-with-a-passion-for-music
And apologies for not getting the news out to you last week - I had to take some unexpected time off - but congratulations to the Parachute Band who pipped Six60 at the top spot in the Album Chart. Here are last week's charts if you'd like to investigate: http://www...indies.co.nz/imnz-album-singles-chart.html

IMNZ News
The Tui for the Best Folk Album was presented on January 29 to Amiria Grenell by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) at the Auckland Folk Festival in Kumeu (West Auckland). The other finalists were Mel Parsons from Westland and Otago quartet The Chaps. Lyttelton-based Amiria recorded ‘Three Feathers’ at the Grenell farm in Whitecliffs and family links run thick through the recording with older brother Oakley on production and arrangement, brother Redford featuring on drums, and guest appearances from partner Tola and Grenell’s father, New Zealand country music legend John Grenell. Released in September 2011, Three Feathers’ ranges stylistically from folk to reggae, country to blues. At age 10 Amiria played the violin, she also began playing the guitar and making up her own chords. Her first EP, ‘Cola Monti’, was released in 2005 and the following year she made her first full length album, ‘Kapowhai’. Amiria has since graduated from NASDA (National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art) with a Performing Arts Degree. http://www.amiriagrenell.co.nz/

After over 35 years of gallant service to the NZ Music Industry James Moss, the man behind legendary Jayrem label has decided to hang his distributor’s hat on the hook and depart our fair shores. Jayrem and Border Music have always had a very close relationship (Border was born out of the same Wellington office many years ago!), so, knowing that they would look after his ‘babies’ James has handed his stock to Border to continue distribution. Rarely in the mainstream of pop/rock, Jayrem Records album releases have tended to reflect James' eclectic and specialist tastes - Maori (Wai, Patea Maori Club, Aotearoa, Apanui, Dalvanius Prime, Upper Hutt Posse, Elena, Tuahine, Big Belly Woman, Brannigan Kaa, Roger Cunningham, Aotearoa Maori Chorale), reggae (Dread Beat & Blood, David Grace & Injustice, Sticks And Shanty, Simon & Fire), women singer/songwriters (Mahinarangi Tocker, Charlotte Yates, Jan Preston, Hinemoana Baker, Jordan Reyne, Donna Muir), contemporary instrumental (Brendan Power), country (Roger Tibbs, The Cattlestops, Ann Pascoe), jazz/blues (Midge Marsden, Hot Club Sandwich, Kokomo, Rodger Fox, Sonia Bullot, Bullfrog Rata), poetry (Bill Manhire, Sam Hunt, Jenny Bornholdt, Michele Leggott) and childrens (Fatcat & Fishface).

New Zealand singer songwriter Flip Grater has had a busy and exciting few years, gaining French representation with music management and branding company So-U, securing agents for six new territories, signing a deal with German label Make My Day and completing four European tours including a support tour for popular French band Cocoon. The indie singer’s signing to French indie label Vicious Circle is the latest in her string of new business partnerships. The deal includes France as well as the UK and will see Flip based in Paris for most of 2012 to write and record her forth studio album. Past releases by Vicious Circle include the collaborative album by Yann Tiersen (who wrote the soundtrack for the French film Amelie) and Shannon Wright. After touring NZ as a member of collaborative band Fly My Pretties in late 2011, Flip has spent the southern hemisphere summer promoting her latest book The Cookbook Tour Europe - a collection of stories from her tours through Europe which includes collected recipes and a special release CD. This month Flip will head to South America to collaborate and perform with Brazilian folk singer Bruno Morais before beginning a March tour in Italy with Herve Peroncini, the frontman of Italian pop-punk band The Peawees. Flip was also recently confirmed as the support act for an upcoming Germany tour with acclaimed French band Aaron. Vicious Circle: http://www.viciouscircle.fr/

In news from Dudley Benson, at Golden Retriever HQ, freshly in is the second pressing of his double live album, Live Series: Volume One. If you'd like a copy of the deluxe 2CD of concert recordings from 2008 and 2010 with six individual artwork cards by Nigel Brown, buy it at The Shop, or for the digital version pop over to Bandcamp. Designed by Saskia Nicol, a shot of the packaging will be attached.

Two Frequency Media Group artists are set to take their music to international audiences with the announcement that local Drum & Bass icon Concord Dawn will play four dates across India in February. Additionally NZ chart topping Hip-Hop artist David Dallas will cross the Tasman to celebrate the release of The Rose Tint Deluxe Edition with four Australian dates. After returning to New Zealand from Vienna to play shows over the New Zealand summer, Concord Dawn (aka Matthew Harvey) is taking his critically acclaimed brand of Drum & Bass to audiences in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune, headlining the fourth installment of India’s Bass Camp Festival, the country’s only Bass-heavy music festival. After a huge few months in New Zealand which saw the deluxe edition of his NZ Music Award nominated album The Rose Tint become the highest charting Hip Hop album of 2011 in NZ, New York based Kiwi David Dallas is set to play four shows across the east coast of Australia to support the album’s release across the Tasman. 2011 saw David Dallas dominating the local music scene in NZ, clocking up over 60,000 downloads of his free album The Rose Tint as well as having his music videos play-listed on U.S & Australian MTV networks and being nominated for three NZ Music Awards including album of the year.

There is no denying it's been a massive few months for Six60 - two platinum singles; one double platinum single; a double platinum album that hasn't been out of the Top 10 since it debuted at No. 1 back in October; and a completely sold out summer tour that saw them play to over 15,000 people in just seven days. Now Six60 are about to embark on their first world tour. First up is New Zealand, where the band will hit a few towns they didn't get to during their summer tour. Then they'll head back over to Australia for their fourth headline tour to celebrate their Australian album release. Next stop is the UK where they have already sold out two London shows! Then Europe and finally America... http://www.six60.co.nz/


New release fanfare

The Black Seeds feature on the new WOMAD 2012 collection, which celebrates another groundbreaking year with a list of acts as diverse as ever. Other artists featured include The Pajama Club, Baaba Mal, Gurrumul, Lo’Jo  and many more, it’s the best way to get a taste of music from the festival or relive the sound once the festival has passed. The CD comes nicely digi packed this year
too. http://cartellmusic.com.au/

Sinate return for NZ Metal fans and have recorded their most brutal album yet - ‘To The Death’ is Sinate like you’ve never heard them before. The band which released their first two albums barely a year apart may have taken some time to put out this record, but the final product has only benefitted. With Sweden based Pelle Seather (Corporation 187, Carnal Forge) taking care of production duties for a second time, this recording has that monster production the swedish metal releases are revered for and at the same time sees Sinate reach new heights in terms of song writing and technicality. A must for all NZ metal fans. http://www.sinateband.com/

Alizarin Lizard are four young men intent on avoiding the real world by living in one huge musical party until it all goes horribly wrong. The Lizard was forged in late 2008 amid chaos and confusion, and spent the next year concocting weird pop songs and freaking out the punters. During one of the longest band tours around NZ in 2010, the band tightened up and shook off a touch of their psychedelic jacket before returning home to Dunedin to record their debut EP Oh, Colour. Another massive tour is scheduled and the album is here! The Weekend Went Without You is a beautiful album of slightly left of centre pop, maintaining an edge but really excelling in writing songs which a lot of people can get into. The boys are about to head off on another sizeable tour, covering Whangarei to Invercargill and pretty much everywhere in between (eg Napier, Wairoa, Rotorua, Dargaville, Riverton, Bluff and tons more).  http://alizarinlizard.tumblr.com/

Ladi6, P-Money & Dan Aux, David Dallas and Tiki are amongst the artists presented on the George FM Yearbook 2011. George FM have let the listeners vote for the top tracks from their airwaves in 2011 and had them all mixed up by the mix-master himself Dick ‘Magik’ Johnson. 2011 was a year where local acts made a big impact, sitting alongside big international tunes from around the world. The George FM Yearbook 2011 is released Monday 13th February in all good record stores and online. Head to www.georgefm.co.nz for more information.

Kapabal is offering a FREE download of an EP (5 tracks) that he has put together to say thanks to his fans for all the support during 2011 - it also nicely coincides with his Facebook page reaching 6,000 likes.
The Brunettes’ 2004 sophomore album 'Mars Loves Venus' is finally available on vinyl…and in a limited edition colour. http://www.marbecks.co.nz/detail/index.lsd?catalogID=856037

Auckland songstress Lydia Cole releases her debut album 'Me and Moon' presenting more acoustic, delicate and light melodies accompanied by intimate and sparse vocals. Read more...

Andrew Uren’s Steep Steps is a CD of outstanding bass clarinet music from New Zealand and elsewhere, in the solo, ensemble, and chamber concerto genres. Performed by Uren with performers 175 East, Stroma, Sarah Watkins, Lenny Sakofsky, Katherine Hebley, James Gardner, Timothy Sutton and Matthias Erdrich. Read more...
Tales of Panapa is composed by Gary Daverne and narrated by David Weatherly with the Auckland Aotea Art Ed Choir. Co-writers are Phil Mark and Rosemary Cranswick. Tales Of Panapa is comprised of two stories based around a wise old village elder called “Panapa” - The Mountain Fairies and The Floating Island - based on legends, telling of the need for sacredness and respect when using our environment. Read more...

Colin Hemmingsen is a name synonymous with jazz in New Zealand, and his reputation as a composer, performer and improviser has spread well beyond these shores. Mike Nock's 40-odd minute composition Transformations was recorded live on October 1st, 2011 at IlottTheatre, Wellington and here Colin Hemmingsen (saxophones, clarinet) is joined by the New Zealand String Quartet, Nick Tipping (bass) and John Rae (drums). Sketches features the compositions of Mike Nock, Phil Broadhurst and John Rae as played by Colin Hemmingsen (saxophones, bassoon). Read more...

On Martin Riseley's 'Lilburn Master Works for Strings', Martin Riseley (violin) with The Chamber Players of The New Zealand School of Music performs selected works of Lilburn (composed in the 1940s and 1950s).
Read more…


On the live front

Singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow is a southern girl at heart. Born and raised in Gore, this kiwi has found her wings. Now living in Austin, TX, listeners can hardly discern her lilting kiwi accent when she sings her own brand of alt-country roots rock. After releasing her third album Freedom in New Zealand and Australia and touring in support of Shawn Mullins, Bristow returned to the USA in February 2011 as the opening act for internationally acclaimed guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel. Playing to sold out 1,500+ capacity theatres, Jackie is at home on the stage. 2011 was a very successful year in the US, touring and opening for some big names - Marc Cohn, John Waite, BJ Thomas, John Oates, Bettye Lavette, Joe Ely, Jimmy Lafave, Marcia Ball, Charlie Robison and Bob Schneider and in past years Daniel Lanois, Art Garfunkel, Phoebe Snow, Madeleine Peyroux, Jimmy Webb to name a few. Her new album Freedom has received national airplay and garnered generous praise from top critics. She starts her New Zealand tour next Friday 17 February in New Plymouth, travelling the country until her final show at Howick's Uxbridge Arts Centre on March 10.

Local electronic producer and DJ Scratch 22 has been announced as the support act for Mayer Hawthorne’s upcoming New Zealand tour dates.  Scratch 22 will support the Detroit crooner at both his Wellington show at San Francisco Bathhouse on February 22nd and his Auckland show at The Powerstation on February 23rd. 2011 saw the release of Scratch 22’s critically praised album Distance From View and saw him head over to Paris to represent New Zealand after winning the 2010 NZ Red Bull Fre3style competition. As well as releasing his own music Scratch 22 (aka Rodi kirk) has put his unique spin on other musicians’ music, remixing tracks for the likes of Homebrew, Electric Wire Hustle and Annabel Fay.
Last September saw Little Bushman and Electric Wire Hustle team up for two sell out nights of vibrant psychedelic and soul music at one of Wellington’s premier live venues, the San Francisco Bathhouse. Both bands and audiences alike enjoyed it so much they thought it best to take it on the road. After the release of their 3rd studio album Te Oranga, Little Bushman wowed audiences throughout Australia, including the prestigious Byron Bay Blues fest and are currently planning a returning mid 2012.These shows also mark the final performances in New Zealand for Electric Wire Hustle this summer before they head onto Europe for 6 months via stop offs in Australia and the USA. EWH are very excited to share some new material from their forthcoming sophmore album with the home crowd before taking it international with performances at WOMAD in Adelaide and SXSW in Austin, Texas in March. Both bands are also looking forward to the opportunity to play in Christchurch where they will perform in the beautiful garden setting of Deans Bush, the location of Riccarton House that was badly damaged in the earthquakes. Taste Events at Riccarton House have staged a series of outdoor concerts at Deans Bush to provide some entertainment and fun to Christchurch citizens and to help Taste Catering survive until the house can be rebuilt. Electric Wire Hustle will perform a solo show in Wellington at San Francisco Bathhouse where they will play an extended set to farewell their home crowd on the 2nd of March. Tickets from www.cosmicticketing.co.nz and Cosmic stores Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch.
www.electricwirehustle.com
www.littlebushman.com

Antagonist A.D have been confirmed to open for A Day To Remember on their one & only NZ tour date.


Around the World

We have two stories this week...
Finalists announced for Australian Music Prize

The shortlist for this year’s Australian Music Prize has been announced, with the following nine artists in the running for $30,000, and bragging rights. The shortlist features:
Abbe May – Design Desire
Adalita – Adalita
Boy & Bear – Moonfire
Gotye – Making Mirrors
Gurrumul – Rralaka
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders – Hurtsville
The Jezabels – Prisoner
Kimbra – Vows
The Middle East – I Want That You Are Always Happy
The shortlist was decided by a panel of 42 industry, artist and media judges. The winner will be announced at an event at the Sydney Opera House Thursday 8 March. New York based Rolling Stone veteran journalist David Fricke will deliver a keynote speech for the event.
http://themusic.com.au/newsletter/4098/the-amp-s-shortlist-of-nine-announced

These Dressing Rooms Change Their Music to Match the Clothing Being Tried...
The motivational power of music can be astounding, which is exactly why retailers use it to sell products everyday. In fact, there are a number of companies that are focused entirely on creating in-store listening experiences that make customers more likely to buy stuff. 
By now it's basic retailing, but a concept called 'musical dressing rooms' is taking things to an entirely new level.  Over the past few months, a group of clothing stores in Singapore has been dynamically shifting the music that plays in dressing rooms to increase the chances of a final sale.  In the pilot, a collection of 10,000 songs from 16 different genres shifted according to the article of clothing being tried.  The article of clothing then mapped to the demographic in question: male, female, younger, older, hip, utilitarian, whatever.
The system basically works with RFID chips affixed to the merchandise, an installed RFID reader in the dressing room, and directional speakers that go straight to the person trying on the clothing.  This diagram was presented at Midem by UK-based marketing firm Contagious, which actually put the concept (and network of clothing retailers) together for the Singapore-based StarHub Online Music Store.
Check it out: http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120207dressing

Happy New Year! And if you have the post-holiday blues, never fear, there are some fantastic summer shows over the next few weeks to cheer you up...

International and Industry Action
The Big Day Out has announced a partnership with C3 Presents, the US-based promoter of Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival. Big Day Out and C3 will collaborate in the continued growth and expansion of the Big Day Out in Australia and New Zealand with the union of talent development, creative execution and production, commercial excellence and innovation to expand on what a global music business can achieve. 
C3 Presents, with its rapid expansion of festivals and touring activity in the South American market, along with its depth of relationships with artists and audiences in the US, will work with Big Day Out to focus particular attention on what their Trans-Pacific relationship can offer to increase opportunities for Australian, Kiwi and international artists across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This is an innovative move by Big Day Out founder Ken West which establishes a massive platform for the festival's expansion. Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza each draw more than 200,000 people annually, and Lollapalooza has recently expanded into Latin America.
Learn more about the Big Day Out and its vast history here:  http://bigdayout.com/vault/

New release fanfare
Rackets formed in 2009, perfect chemistry was formed when Oscar Davies-Kay and Vince Nairn invited fellow man-about-town Jeremy Potts to jam along. After the success of the 2 previous releases the latest chapter of the Rackets saga was birthed out of a relationship with Levi Beamish of Chrysalis Films. The idea was to shoot six music videos forming one grand narrative and creating the most hype by stretching it out over a 2 month period. Rackets are constantly looking forward into the future to accomplish things that haven’t been done. These 6 videos spurned 6 seven-inch pressings… now all conveniently compiled on the very obviously titled full-length CD: Rackets.


On the live front
Cobra Khan will be playing the Auckland leg of a two date NZ tour with local pioneers of big instrumental rock, Kerretta, who have announced they will play two New Zealand shows before heading off for an extensive tour of Europe in February/March of 2012. Kerretta will play Wellington’s Mighty Mighty on January 21st with Force Fields and Auckland’s Kings Arms Tavern on January 28th with Cobra Khan. Along with the two New Zealand dates Kerretta will head over to Europe to showcase their big brash sound to audiences in Germany, France, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia and The Netherlands, playing 23 dates across the continent. 2011 saw Kerretta release Saansilo, the follow-up to their critically praised debut album Vilayer, and the Auckland based trio have previously been nominated for the Taite Music Prize in 2010 and have built a strong following across New Zealand, Australia and Europe. www.myspace.com/kerretta

Nikau Rhythm have announced the line up for their fifth annual ‘Anniversary Weekend Show’ at the Coroglen Tavern in the Coromandel: on January 28th 2012 be set to have your mind blown by some of the biggest Drum & Bass and Dubstep artists New Zealand has to offer. Iconic D&B act Concord Dawn return from Europe to play the special fifth-year anniversary of what has become a must-attend event for dance music fans across New Zealand, heading to the beautiful Coromandel for a long weekend of great music. After having a huge year in 2011, D&B duo State of Mind and Dubstep juggernaut Bulletproof will both bring their unique live set to the Coroglen Tavern. Incognito and MC Rugged Tekniques join them to round out this epic line-up. So get your crew ready and get your tickets quick because this show will sell out. Tickets are available from iTicket, Real Groovy Records, Funktion (Whitianga), Conch Records and from the venue. Camping and additional parking will also be available across the road from the Coroglen Tavern. You don’t want to miss this!

I Am Giant have to returned to NZ for their biggest national tour to date. 2011 was a massive year for I Am Giant – their debut album ‘The Horrifying Truth’ debuted No 2 in the charts and is nearly gold; it was the highest selling NZ rock album of 2011 and produced five massive number 1 Rock hits – ‘City Limits’, ‘Neon Sunrise’, ‘Living The Crash’, ‘And We’ll Defy’ and ‘Let It Go’. The I Am Giant ‘Let It Go Summer Tour’ sees the band touring the depth and breadth of New Zealand from Russell all the way to Invercargill. Joining them on most of the dates are the electrifying powerhouse that is Cairo Knife Fight. CNF who released their second EP “II” via Liberation Music in August 2011, is comprised of drummer / lead vocalist Nick Gaffaney and Aaron Tokona on guitar. Together, this potent pair issues forth pulsating guitar riffs illuminated with haunting vocals and phantasmal effects which have taken the stage alongside Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures and Queens of The Stone Age.
Tickets on sale now from NZ Tix www.nztix.co.nz <http://www.nztix.co.nz> and Selected Venues

Knights of the Dub Table are set to hit 6 cities in 3 weekends for the official tour of their recently released debut album ‘Way of the Dub’. The tour will kick start in the bands hometown of Hamilton on the 3rd of February in the bar which they deem the birthplace of the band, the legendary Flow Bar. Other locations for the tour include Auckland, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Gisborne and Wellington. The Knights have made it their goal to do the album justice on the live stage. A lot of thought has been put into the arrangements; buildups, drops and vocal techniques to ensure the Knights bring an uplifting and infectious live experience. Front man Mr Samy’samson says “we want to push the boundaries of our live performance and take the audience to another level”. The band acknowledges the financial hardships at this time and wanted to make the tour affordable to all who wish to share their love of the music. With $10 presales and $15 door sales the event is great value for money - the tour promises at least 5 hours of entertainment per show. Knights of the DUB Table will be supported by a variety of talented kiwi artists throughout their month on the road, including Tui Soundsystem, Kingshifta, Soul Society and DJ Briggsy. http://knightsofthedubtable.com

Wildly popular music-comedy sensation The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is back on the road this summer with its newest record, “I Love You…”, another serving of infectious, ukulele-infused hit songs. This tour sees the orchestra play towns and venues never before explored by the band, which is looking forward to bringing its charming swagger to new corners of New Zealand. Led by Age Pryor (Fly My Pretties, Woolshed Sessions), the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra formed six years ago at a tiny café in Wellington and has since become a cult favourite, causing a mad scramble for tickets wherever it goes. Heavenly harmonies and stunning solos are juxtaposed against hilariously budget special effects, madcap antics and questionable banter, delighting crowds of all ages. If you haven’t yet seen the “unmissable funfest”, get a group together and make a night of it. All ticketing and tour info is at: www.ukulele.co.nz

The Big Day Out presents a Big Night In with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ghost Wave and She’s So Rad at the King’s Arms on Thursday 19 January. Three of the outstanding indie acts of 2011 gather forces at Auckland’s home of live alternative music for one big night of party starting action for the 2012 Big Day Out. Unknown Mortal Orchestra capped off an eventful 2011 by cropping up all over Pitchfork’s ‘best of the year’ lists and recruiting a new drummer for their shows downunder. And with Kody Neilson being the one to answer brother Ruban’s call to join up, it’s been a revelation to see the two Mint Chicks main men locked together in playing the furious psychedelic pop jamsthat made UMO one of the bands of 2011 anywhere. They’re joined on the bill by the two new bands grabbing ears on the Auckland scene last year – Ghost Wave and She’s So Rad. Both groups released debut EPs that haunted the top of the alternative charts for months and promise many big things for 2012. Warm up for the Big Day Out alongside UMO, Ghost Wave and She’s So Rad at the Kings Arms, Thursday 19 January. Tickets on sale now from www.undertheradar.co.nz and Real Groovy.

Kaikoura Roots Winner Drawn

Congratulations to Thalia Stewart (who you may know as Stepa) who won the double pass to the Kaikoura Roots festival happening this weekend. She correctly told us that DJ Digital, Soulware and Budspells are all on the bill, alongside some other great acts and DJs such as Salmonella Dub, Kora, Dub FX, Cornerstone Roots, AHoriBuzz, Soulsystem, Soulja, Ecophonix, Tui Soundsystem, Wicked Draw, Motocade, DJs Darcy & Phil, Stinky Jim, Whirimako Black, DLT, Rio Hemopo, Soulware, Left Or Right, DJ Illfigz, Dreadford, DJ Digital, Amiria Grenell and Peasants Of Eden.

For more info, visit http://www.kaikourarootsfestival.com